Corruption and Abuse of Power by Children and Youth Services. News around Berks County and my little hometown Robesonia.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Parental Rights Organization on Parental Rights

From its conception it has been
the aim of ParentalRights.org to protect in the text of the Constitution the
rights of all parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their
children. To that end we have just added a new section to the proposed language
in order to address an ongoing weakness in the practice of parental rights
law.

The new section provides that
“The parental rights guaranteed by this article shall not be denied or
abridged on account of disability.”

According to a study of the
National Council on Disability, parents with disabilities face child removal
rates of anywhere from 40 to 80 percent depending on the nature of their
disability – far above the national norm. Those who are deaf or blind face
“extremely high rates of child removal and loss of parental
rights.” The study concludes, “Clearly, the legal system is not
protecting the rights of parents with disabilities and their children.”

The proposed Parental Rights
Amendment offers the opportunity to address and correct this wrong, and the
addition of this new language makes clear our intention to do just that.
This is more than an opportunity; it is an obligation.

During the 20th Century the
Supreme Court developed a doctrine of “protected classes” – special
classifications of citizens against whom the government is prohibited from
discriminating under the Fourteenth Amendment. Religious groups, racial
minorities, and women are all among these “protected classes,” identified
through a line of civil rights and anti-discrimination acts dating back to
1964.

In its embarrassing
eugenics-era Buck v. Bell decision, however, the Court made clear ahead
of time that the disabled were not on that list. Their opinion would be
horrifyingly offensive to our modern sensibilities:

“It is better for all the
world,” Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote for the 1927 Court, “if instead of
waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime, or to let them starve for
their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit
from continuing their kind…. Three generations of imbeciles are
enough.”

It is easy to dismiss this as a
prejudiced view from a less sensitive time. Yet, even with the passage of the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, this case still hangs over the
disabled like the sword of Damocles. It is a precedent that has never
been over-turned; the government still retains the power to make
decisions for the disabled that it could never make for more mainstream members
of society.

In a much different 1979
decision the Court wrote, “The law’s concept of the family… historically…has
recognized that natural bonds of affection lead parents to act in the best
interests of their children….

“Simply because the decision of
a parent is not agreeable to a child, or because it involves risks, does not
automatically transfer the power to make that decision from the parents to some
agency or officer of the state.”

Sadly, this legal
presumption of parental fitness often fails to serve the parent who suffers a
disability. According to the NCD report, “fully two-thirds of
dependency statutes allow the court to reach the determination that a parent is
unfit…on the basis of the parent’s disability.”

The time has come to
correct this wrong, and the proposed Parental Rights Amendment is just the
vehicle by which to do it.

We have said consistently that
as parents we are all in this together. This is one more opportunity to prove
that point.

Certainly we are hopeful that
many individuals and organizations of the disability community will take an
interest in this addition and join our fight to preserve parental rights.
Already we are thrilled to welcome the endorsement of the National Federation of
the Blind.

But even if other disabled
citizens do not join our effort we will stand for their rights alongside our
own. Because knowledge of the errors of the past is not sufficient to prevent
their repetition; when it comes our turn we must be faithful to set a
different course.

We are proud to set that course
today.

To read the entire Parental
Rights Amendment as it is currently proposed, click here.

About Me

I am a mom of 2 sons. Ian 28 years and Elliott 27 years. I have spent all of the past 28+ years being a MOM. They are my life. Dennis is my husband and best friend. We enjoy a peaceful life in PA and SC. My guys make my life worth living and they are proof I am the luckiest person because I have them. I have also been a foster mom. Dennis and I took pride in helping children during difficult times in their lives by providing a safe home and guidance. As an investigative reporter I collected a lot of information about the illegal tactics used within these agencies to steal children from good families. I continue to help families that are dealing with the corruption within. I want to clarify for everyone that follows my page or finds me through a search about their fight with child welfare. I am NOT an attorney. This blog was set up to provide information from experience and or my opinion. After seeing the abuse within children and youth services and small government I wanted to share my insight and personal knowledge of certain events. At no time is the information in this blog to be construed as legal direction. I will refer attorneys for legal advice.